A variety of therapies and analysis of the brain may be performed using electrodes placed in direct contact with brain tissue, in contact with the dura mater surrounding the brain, or in the vicinity of the brain. The electrodes may be used for stimulation, such as therapies for treating the tremor associated with Parkinson's disease, dystonia, central pain, tinnitus and other thalamo-cortical dysrhythmias such as OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder), schizoaffective disorders and manic/depressive syndrome. Alternatively, the electrodes may be used to monitor and record neurological activity in the brain. Recording brain activity can be useful in analyzing and treating abnormal neurological activity or diseases. Likewise, immediate monitoring of activity in the brain can potentially be used to control prosthetics.
One use of biomedical electrodes with the brain is carried out by drilling a hole in the cranium and inserting an electrode assembly into the patient's head to contact the brain tissue or dura mater surrounding the brain. The electrode assembly may include more than one electrode lead thereon. However, all of the electrode leads are typically placed along the length of the electrode assembly, which is typically tube-shaped. Thus, the positioning of the electrodes on this type of electrode assembly is limited. For deep brain stimulation, the electrodes are typically inserted relatively deep into the brain in order to contact particular areas of interest. As a result, deep brain stimulation is somewhat invasive, and may lead to complications such as bleeding.
For long-term chronic therapies and analysis, a biomedical electrode device can be implanted inside the patient's cranium. The implanted electrode can be used to stimulate or monitor neurological activity over long periods of time. However, implanting an electrode array inside a patient's head requires a large craniotomy. This type of surgical procedure is intensive, involves health risks and includes an extended healing time.
Thus, there is a need for a device and a method of installing the device that can stimulate and/or monitor neurological activity at a variety of locations in the brain without requiring an extensive craniotomy or the removal of a portion of the cranium.